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Iku Nagae
frame|right Introduction Iku Nagae, the mid-boss of Scarlet Weather Rhapsody and a Ryuuguu no Tsukai that lives among the clouds. Able to manipulate lightning and possessing the youkai ability to read the atmosphere, Iku lives between the realm of humans and dragons, and acts as an envoy to the Dragon Palace. Advantages: Iku combines many unique features which make fighting her quite a different experience. She has fast and deceptively long-ranged, easy to hit and combo melee attacks while airborne, and when grounded she's backed up by powerful, varied skills and spellcards. Her bullets also tend to be unique, capable of zoning and long-range gimmicks. Finally, her decks can change her playstyle rather drastically, from the chip-damage and gimmicks based annoyer, to a high-risk and high-damaging comboer... going through the balanced zoning/comboer types which capitalize 2k to 2.5k damage and a bluering from almost any hit. Disadvantages: Iku combines being one of the slowest characters while being lightweight, and having a large hitbox. Also, even though her moveset is almost complete, each move tends to be designed for one specific purpose alone, and she lacks melee attacks that hit behind her and graze attacks. Most of her moves contain critical flaws, as much varied as her moveset. All this means that she's easy to punish, and when she is, she'll take a lot of damage. Also, as a side effect of these flaws and her slow speed is that it's very hard to guardcrush with Iku without the use of spellcards, or advanced techniques like LandCancel strings. Finally, there's some difficulty in handling Iku's decks, as it's hard to judge which skill or spellcard fits better a given playstyle, and some spellcards go as far as being misleading on their apparent use. Special Properties Floating (slow): Iku's special form of flight. Does not show the usual winds flight animation around Iku, is much more maneuverable than regular flight, turning radius is reduced, straight speed is reduced, and prohibits flight landing cancelling into highjump. Also, it consumes half the spirit that regular flight does. Finally, instead of just one, she has three flight animations with differently shaped hitboxes: one for vertical flight, one for forward flight and one for backwards flight. The only other characters that float are Patchouli and Yuyuko, but their floating is much more maneuverable. Hoverdash: Iku’s ground dash (D6) hovers slightly above the ground. This allows her to dash over some low physical attacks. However Iku’s hitbox is turned horizontal during the dash which makes her extra vulnerable to wide physical attacks, such as Alice’s 6A. The only other character with a hoverdash is Yukari. Long roll/slide: Iku's wakeup roll or recovery goes much further than other characters', however this also makes it much more predictable. The only other character that slides farther than usual is Patchouli, and her slide doesn't go as far as Iku's. Lightweight: Iku is launched further away, wallslams/groundslams higher, and then falls slower. This is particularly bad for Iku, since she is vulnerable to all combos that hit lightweight characters, but due to her large hitbox size, she's still prone to most combos that whiff on the other ones. Hisoutensoku 1.10 Changes A tentative and still incomplete list of changes, and thus it will not yet be amended into the appropriate areas. Most of the changes here should be verified, just in case. f.5A, 6A, 3A, j.2A, j.6A, j.5A, 66A, 66C, and possibly some other moves have graphical changes. They can now see our hitboxes. 5A(2nd) and 5A(3rd) now limit 20%. This way 5AAA still limits 40%, but combos that start from 5AA will limit early 6A: Looks completely different now. Iku does a swipe in front of her, with wind effects. Hitbox whiffs on crouching Sakuya and the likes on point blank. Same damage. 236 Dragon Fish's Strike: bigger hitbox. 236 Dragon God's Strike: hitbox stays on level up. 236 The Dragon Fish That Obtained Water: Faster. 623 Veils Like Water: B version is now like the old SWR C version. 623 Veils Like Wind: B version lasts a long time, C version lasts less than B version but is way larger. Ignores the opponent. 623 Angel's Strike: B version is the same as before, C version has a bit of startup and is a full-fledged grab. 214 Electrostatic Guided Missile: Bigger and brighter at level 2. 214 Dragon God's Lightning Flash: Seems to be slower, less dense, more spread and less bounce. 22 Dragon Fish's Wrath: Bigger, has more pushback. 22 Dragon God's Whiskers: C version activates as fast as B version, and still lasts a long time. However, this time leveling increases the amount of hits. At level 1, C version hits 6 times, and at level max, it hits 12 hits. B version is four hits on all levels. Lightning Sign "Elekiter Dragon Palace": Deals less damage. Thorn Sign "Thunder Cloud Stickleback": Still lasts five seconds, but has eight ticks now. As such, it ticks faster. Jewel Sign "Pearl of the Five-Clawed Dragon": Grows as time passes. Angel's Raiment "Veils Like Space": Faster now. Dragon Fish "Swimming Oarfish Shot": Less bullets, has pushback, smaller duration. Normal Moves Bullet Moves Special Moves Alternate Skill Cards Spellcards One cost cards Two cost cards Three cost cards Four cost cards Five cost cards Hisoutensoku Combos From 5AA *'5AAA 6C 623BC' -- 2157 damage -- 100% limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Anywhere, Point Blank, Everyone :Notes : Use this when short on spirit orbs. :Modifications : ::(corner, optional) -- 5AAA 6[C 623BC] -- 2236 damage -- 105% limit. ::(Dragon God's Strike) -- 5AAA 6C 236C -- 2238 damage -- 100% limit. ::(corner, optional, Dragon God's Strike) -- 5AAA 6[C 236C] -- 2352 damage -- 105% limit. *'5AAA 5C HJC9 j.5C 9D j.5A j.6A' -- 2644 max damage -- 135% max limit. :Orbs : 2+ :Use : Midscreen, Close Range, Everyone :Notes : Doesn't work well on Sanae (but still limits). :Modifications : ::(easier, less range dependent, good for post-combo spacing) -- 5AAA 5C HJC9 j.5C 9D j.2A -- 2571 max damage -- 135% max limit *'5AAA 5C hjc.9 j.6C j.66 j.6A' -- 2333 max damage -- 115% max limit. :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Midscreen, Everyone, If you think the combo above won't connect in j.5C due to range. *'5AA 5C HJC9 j.5C 9D j.5C 6D j.5A j.6A' -- 3172 max damage -- 135% max limit :Orbs : 4''' :Use : '''Midscreen, Point Blank, whiffs on Remilia Youmu Patchouli China Utsuho Reisen Aya and Tenshi :Notes : Whiffs on 5AA 5C, so it can't be fixed for those characters under normal conditions. :Weather : Moonsoon fixes it for whiffable characters. *'5AAA 5[B 6C]' -- 2475 max damage -- 100% limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Corner, Point Blank, Everyone :Notes : Old corner bnb. *'5AA 5B 6C 22C' -- 2795 damage -- 105% limit :Orbs : 3''' :Use : '''Corner, Point Blank, Doesn't limit on Suika, Yukari, Yuyuko, Remilia, Suwako :Notes : Must be cancelled lightning fast at every turn. :Modifications : ::(easier, but haven't managed to limit on Suika, Yukari, Remilia, Youmu, Patch, Alice, Sakuya, Reimu, China, Suwako) -- 5AA 5B 5C 22C -- 2671 max damage -- 100% max limit ::(easiest, less range dependant, 4 orbs, works on everyone, very reliable) -- 5AA 5B 5C HJC9/7 j.6A j.5B j.6C -- 2641 damage -- 100% limit *'5AA 6C hjc.9 j.6C j.66 j.6A j.6C' - 2340 damage - 100% limit :Orbs : 3''' :Use : '''Anywhere, Everyone, use when 5AA hit an airborne opponent. *'5AA 5B 6C 623C/a.623B (Angel's Strike)' -- 2570/2817 damage -- 105% limit :Orbs : 3''' :Use : '''Corner, Everyone *'5AA 6C a.236BC (Dragon God's Strike) hjc.9 j.2A/j.6A' -- 2512/2497 damage - 135% limit :Orbs : 3''' :Use : '''Midscreen, Everyone *'5AA 5B 6C a.236C (Dragon God's Strike) hjc.8 j.6A' -- 2777 damage - 135% limit :Orbs : 3''' :Use : '''Corner, Everyone From 5A/4A/2A or 3A *'2A 3A 6C 623BC' -- 2169 damage -- 100% limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Anywhere :Modifications : ::(Dragon God's Strike) -- 2A 3A 6C 236C -- 2338 -- 100% *'2A 3A 6C 22BC' -- 2264 damage -- 100% limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Corner :Notes : May work anywhere on heavyweight characters. *'5A/4A/2A 3A 6C HJC9 j.5A j.2A' -- 2252/2299 damage -- 100% limit :Orbs : 1''' :Use : '''Midscreen & Near Corner, Everyone :Notes : Best "safe use" 5A/4A/2A bnb all around. *'5A/4A/2A 3A 2B 5C HJC9 j.5C j.66 j.5A j.6A' -- 2774/2815 max damage -- 135% max limit :Orbs : 3''' :Use : '''Midscreen & Near corner, Point Blank, Whiffs completely on Youmu, Sakuya, Marisa, Reimu, China, Aya and Iku, midscreen on Suika, Patchouli and Suwako, weirdly on Alice, Sanae, Reisen, Komachi and Tenshi :Notes : Very strict on point blank range. Enough that 4A often makes you whiff. Use after landing or when cornered after a successful 4PBE (Border Escape). For some reason does 1 extra damage on Okuu. :Modifications : ::(Suika Midscreen, 2 orbs) -- 5A/4A/2A 3A 2B 5C HJC9 j.5A j.2A -- 2436/2480 max damage -- 110% max limit ::(Suika, Patchouli & Suwako Midscreen, 2 orbs, 3A starter) -- 3A 2B 5C HJC9 j.5C j.66 j.5A j.6A -- 2572 damage -- 135% limit ::(Alice, Sanae, Komacho & Tenshi) -- (under construction (most attempts limit early), start with 5A/4A/2A 3A 5B 5C.., could involve a well-timed 1C, or two j.5A) ::(works for Alice, Marisa, Sanae, Komachi, Tenshi) -- 5A/4A/2A 3A 5B 6C 623B -- 2577/2619 damage -- 125% limit ::(Reisen) -- (under construction, starts with 5A/4A/2A 3A 5B 5C.., but requires wating a short time before 5B and/or 5C 5A/4A and 2A versions seem to differ) From j.2A *'j.2A 5C HJC9 j.5C 9D j.5A j.6A' -- 2456 max damage -- 130% max limit :Orbs : 2+ :Use : Midscreen, Everyone, Requires you to be moving forward toward your opponent, and doesn't work with j2A at max range. *'j.2A 66 hj.9 j.5A j.2A j.2C j.66 j.5A j.2A' -- 2203 max damage -- 130% max limit :Orbs : 1''' :Use : '''Anywhere, Everyone, One of the j.5A must be omitted. Easy and safe combo, just need to make sure the first j.2A is hit while dashing forward or at least gets you landing not too far. Max range j.2A is possible. *'j.2A f.5A 5B 6C/5C' -- 2319/2083 max damage -- 85%/70% max limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Corner, Everyone, with 6C can do d.22BC (but must be fast, limit) a.236C (Dragon God's Strike, 2450+, 100%+ limit), a.623B (Angel's Strike, 2600+, limit). With 5C can do d.236B (2600+, 95% limit), and easier d.22BC. *'j.2A j.6C j.66 j.2A j.6C j.66 j.2A' -- 1905 max damage - 135% max limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Anywhere, Everyone, only applicable if haven't airdashed at all, which is usually happening after a hitting j.9 j.2A (not highjump). *'j.2A 6C hjc.9 6C' -- 1815 max damage -- 80% max limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Anywhere, Everyone, easiest and safest combo. *'j.2A hjc.9 j.66 j.5A j.2A hjc.9 j.66 j.5A j.2A' - 2162 damage -- 120% limit. :Orbs : 0''' :Use : '''Midscreen, Everyone, use this if there's no orbs left. *'j.2A a.236B (Dragon God's Strike) hjc.9 j.6C ' -- 2047 max damage -- 100% max limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Anywhere, this combo goes better as a.236BC levels up. *'j.2A hjc.9 j.6D j.2A a.623B (Angel's Strike)' -- 2150 damage -- 80% forced limit :Orbs : 1''' :Use : '''Anywhere, this combo goes better as a.623BC levels up. From j.8A *'j.8A (<3hits) j.5B j.6C -- 2470 damage -- 95% limit :Orbs : '''2' :Use : Anywhere, Everyone *'j.8A j.a214BC (Dragon God's Lightning Flash) j.8D j.5A j.6A j.6C -- 2040 damage -- 100% limit :Orbs : '''2' :Use : Anywhere, Everyone From 66C *'66C 5AA 5C HJC9 j.5C 9D j.5A j.6A' -- 2532 damage -- 135% limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Midscreen & Near Corner, Point Blank, Whiffs on Youmu, Harder and Limits Early on Reisen and Tenshi. :Notes : Must cross the opponent during 66C. Timing is character dependant. :Modifications : :: (easier, works on Youmu, 3 orbs) -- 66C 5B 6C 22C -- 2238 damage -- 125% limit From f.5A *'f.5A 6C hjc.9 j.6C j.66 j.5A j.2A j.5C j.6D j.5A j.6A' -- 2835 max damage -- 135% limit :Orbs : 3+ :Use : Midscreen, Everyone. Skip j.5A if too far. *'f.5A 6C hjc.9 j.6C j.66 j.5A j.2A f.5A 6C' -- 2705 max damage -- 90% limit :Orbs : 3''' :Use : '''Anywhere, Everyone. Use hjc.7 instead of hjc.9 if reached corner. More reliable version of the above combo. Skip j.5A if too far. Skip second f.5A if too far. Use 5B 6C if second f.5A is unavailable due to reaching corner. *'f.5A 3A 6C 623C/hjc.9 j.5A j.2A' -- 2304 max damage/2403 max damage -- 100% limit :Orbs : 2/1 :Use : Anywhere, Everyone. 623C if too far for j.5A. *'f.5A 5B 5C hjc.9 j.6D j.5A f.5A 6C' -- 3189 max damage -- 70% limit :Orbs : 3+ :Use : Anywhere, Everyone. f.5A must be pretty close out of dashing. Corner must be reached during the combo. Can add things for limit, such as a.236C (Dragon God's Strike, around 3,4k) or a.623B (Angel's Strike) From 6C *'6C hjc.9 j.5A j.2A...' *'6C 214BC hjc.9...' *'6C hjc.9 j.6C j.66 j.6C j.66...' 6C is pretty easy to combo, most likely you'll want to combo it into j.2A. Spell Card *'j.2A Dragon Fish Drill' -- 3214 damage -- 100% limit :Orbs : 0''' :Use : '''Anywhere, May not dash before activating spellcard. Simple, deadly, and almost always usable. *'5AA 5C HJC9 D6 Star Light' -- 3737 damage -- 61% limit :Orbs : 1''' :Use : '''Midscreen, Point Blank, whiffs on Remilia Youmu Patchouli China Utsuho Reisen Aya and Tenshi. :Notes : Can be followed up with nearly anything you want. Few notables are :: 22BC -- 3859 damage -- 111% limit :: 236C (Dragon God's Strike) -- 3850 -- 101% limit :: 22B (Dragon God's Whiskers) -- 3849 -- 101% limit :: 214BC 214BC (Dragon God's Lightning Flash) -- 3883 damage -- 101% limit *'5AAA Star Light 22BC' -- 3164 damage -- 116% limit :Orbs : 1''' :Use : '''Corner, Point Blank, Everyone. :Notes : 22BC can be replaced with anything else, because Star Light traps the opponent for a long time. *'j.2A 5C HJC9 D6 Star Light 22BC' -- 3237 damage -- 136% limit :Orbs : 2''' :Use : '''Midscreen, Everyone. :Notes : 22BC can be replaced with anything else, because Star Light traps the opponent for a long time. *'j.2A Star Light 22BC' -- 3218 damage -- 116% limit :Orbs : 1''' :Use : '''Corner, Everyone. :Notes : 22BC can be replaced with anything else, because Star Light traps the opponent for a long time. Blockstrings and Pressure The point of any blockstring is to force your opponent to make a risky move, or risk himself getting guardcrushed. This section will focus on how to use your advantage to it's fullest, whether it's by baiting mashing with a delayed string, or crushing guard with a 5C loop, there's plenty of ways to strike fear into a blocking opponent. Delayed String Basics A delayed string is a string that has you delay the next move in the string just enough to allow an opponent to startup an attack or a move. In other words, you make it un-airtight. As a result, you catch your opponent during that startup, interrupting his move and dealing damage. The goal of a delayed string is to make your opponent block longer. Example 1: When you do Iku's 5AAAA, you don't have to press the "A"s quickly. You can actually do 5AA *pause* AA and still complete the chain. If you time it right and your opponent is foolish enough to attack or dash, you may catch him with the third A, allowing you to damage your opponent. The best way for your opponent to avoid this is to just block. Example 2: This time, do 5A pause A pause A pause A. Each time you pause, you give your opponent a chance to start up an attack. The result is that each time you pause, your opponent has to guess whether or not you will throw another melee. Your opponent is forced to decide whether to move or block each time you do a pause. Remember, if you pause too long, your opponent may have a hole to escape. Example 3: This time, do Iku's 5AA 5B 5C. If your opponent is expecting a staggered third a to come out, he will sit and block. The result is that your get your opponent to block a 5C, giving you a huge frame advantage, and getting your opponent closer to the corner. If the 5C knocks the opponent into the corner, Congratulations! You just started the 5C loop! All because you made your opponent fear your melee. So as you can see, delayed strings rely on the "fear" caused by an oncoming melee. If your opponent expects a melee to occur, they will block, and if your opponent overuses his blocking, you can crush his guard with one of the following two tools. Main Bullets Bullets are invaluable as they can be HighJump Cancelled, tend to give more frame advantage, and always deal spirit damage when blocked, stopping the opponent's spirit regeneration ofr a short while. 5C Iku's 5C has a few useful properties. * It keeps your opponent it blockstun. * It drains more orbs than it costs. * It carries your opponent backward. * It can be chained into itself. When to use: :You might happen to land a 5C on Oki. :Delayed strings, 5A 5B 5C, 2A 5B 5C, etc. Mid Screen: 5C hjc.9 j.6D land 5C Corner: 5C 5C 5C ... If you happen to be too close to land a corner 5C loop, you still have the option of moving back or use other guardcrush tools. Video demonstration 1 Video demonstration 2 5B Iku's 5B has a few useful properties. * It is slow. * It has nice blockstun. * It usually drains more orbs than it costs. When to use: :After delayed strings, usually, 5A/5AA/2A 5B... Mid Screen: :5B 5C (starts 5C Loop) :5B hjc.9 j.6D j.5A Corner: :5B hjc.9 j.3D land :5B hjc.9 5B j.3D land :5B hjc.9 j.6D j.5A land :5B hjc.9 j.1C j.3D j.5A land All have different uses. 6C Iku's 6C has one useful properties. That is, it's speed. It is airtight out of most melees. Even j.2A, sometimes. When to use: :After a melee that you want to be airtight. :After hjc.9, sometimes. Mid Screen: :j.5A j.6C j.66 land Corner: :6C hjc.9 j.6C j.6D j.5A land 6C hjc.9 j.6C works against a cornered opponent. After 6C, there's some special moves that can be airtight. : d.236B (Dragon Fish's Strike) 0 Orb. Why want this one airtight. Delay it a bit, and it will have a chance to hit the enemy. : a.236B (Dragon God's Strike) 1 Orb. Good range. In corner, can be continued with hjc.9 j.6C j.6D j.5A land reset. : d.22BC (Dragon Fish's Wrath) 1 Orb. : d.214BC (Electrostatic Guided Missile) 0.5 Orb. Good range. : a.214BC (Dragon's Eye) .375 Orb per hit, 2 hits at Level 1, 3 hits at Level 2 and 3, and 4 hits at Level 4. Is amazing at Level 2. Eats more orb than it requires, and more importantly allows airtight reset. : a.623B (Veils Like Wind) 0.5 Orb. Stagger Pressure Basics Unfortunately, Iku's bullets have two major flaws: they have very slow startups, which means a more skilled player can graze them in reaction to the animation, and Iku's slow melee means they are relatively safe to Border Escape. Using too many bullets will cripple your spirit regeneration for a short time, and should your opponent evade them and counterattack, you'll be in a very bad situation, with not much spirit left and a slow character with few ways to deal with pressure. To remedy this, enter the Stagger Strings. Stagger Pressure is the technique of using fast melee moves with high/low attributes, and not necessarily cancelling them. They are similar to Delayed Strings in that they do not keep up the blockstun, but differ in that these rely mosty on mixup, less in delayed move cancelling, and their goal is to take advantage of the opponent's fear; as opposed to causing them fear in the first place. Due to the nature of the moves used for this, this is moslty a Grounded, Corner technique. Also, Iku's normal grounded melee is air unblockable, so a quick cancel can always punish a HJ escape attempt. High/Low Mixup The technique of varying between High and Low melee attacks in a Stagger String, in order to force wrongblocks out of your opponent. A Wrongblock will drain one full orb of the opponent's spirit bar with no cost to your own, it will also leave them in longer blockstun, opening up more followup options. Wrongblocks also can't be BE'd, greatly reducing your opponent's escape options. You will be trying to scire get these. Rightblocks, now that wrongblocks don't cause pushback, are hardly useful for you. 5A and 4A Both hit high, have moderate startups and very short range. 5A can start an autocombo delayed string, 4A won't string, but on a wrongblock it will stagger into itself, given the right range, and 4A uses the same input as block. If you manage to GuardCrush with these moves, you'll have a lot of options to deal damage, since they are fairly fast and easily cancellable. However their range is not optimal for this role and they are somewhat unsafe, as they will whiff on some crouched opponents at point blank, and have frame disadvantage on rightblock (-2) if not cancelled. Using this after a dash will preserve Iku's momentum, nullifying all block pushback, making for a great starter or reset on wrongblock. Even with its flaws, this is one of your main weapons for high wrongblocks. 2A Iku's real main poke: has slower startup, but much better range and a good hitbox. Hits low and can be cancelled into everything 5A/4A can (except autocombo). It has the same frame disadvantage on rightblock as 5A/4A, but its range can be used to make it safe. Its disadvantage is of not being able to punish HJ escapes. Since it is relatively safe and fast, this is one of your best moves to make sure the stagger pressure keeps up, and it's also great for low wrongblocks if relatively close. It has a lot of pushback, and not much frame advantage on wrongblock, so avoid to use it at max range, as this could open an escape route for the opponent. f.5A and 66A Functionally similar to a slower stading 2A with slightly more range. Hits low and cancels into the same moves. Its main use aside from 2A is its longer range, higher hitbox, and less pushback. It has the same frame disadvantage on rightblock as the moves above. Both attacks use the same frames, and seem to be the same except for the sfx played and that 66A has slightly less pushback on block. Its uses are similar to those of 2A. 4 Since Iku's melee is slow and unsafe on rightblock, it is important that you block in between attacks, so that fast startup, punishable attacks won't hit you and you'll be able to punish them. Also, as any pressure that doesn't keep up the blockstun, this technique is vulnerable to reversals, so it may be a good idea to block at some intevals rather than attacking to punish these. Ending and resetting the pressure Since it is a fear based tecnhnique, you won't be able to keep up the stagger pressure forever. You will then need to reset it, end it, continue with another type of pressure, try a gimmick or frame trap, or punish your opponent. This is mostly done by cancelling the stagger moves to "stronger" ones, maybe even GuardCrush-based cards like lvl1, Thorn Sign, and lvl5. 6A and 3A are the staple attacks that are cancelled from the moves above. They have slower startups and recovery, more frame disadvantage, little pushback, and hit high and low respectively. You can then cancel these to start a string, but they can also be used to punish rightblockers that try to hit you back in between the stagger pressure, and opponents that attempt an escape. However, depending on each situation, other attacks should be used. LandCancel Strings LandCancelling is a special type of reset, it means cancelling an aerial attack animation by landing instead of using another attack. By exploiting it, it is possible to create more elaborate blockstrings, able to make pressure midscreen or even airtight strings that can also punish BEs. However, they require a good zoning and spacing beforehand, and they are generally much harder and expensive than other kinds of pressure. This is the only method for Iku to make good airtight strings in the corner. Movement, Spacing and Zoning Moves Cards System Cards SpellCards Random Things *Air Blockstrings are almost the same; j.5A -delay- j.6A j.6C j.66 is safe, and next time your opponent might try to block a j.5A j.5B j.6C j.66 reset. *Iku's "Dragon Fish Drill" helps even more by adding an extra melee at the end of the 236B ender. Normally, an opponent would be able to escape by high jumping after a 236B, but with the "Dragon Fish Drill" you can catch them simply by adding the spell card after the 236B. Simply by having this card ready, you can discourage people trying to escape and even buy enough time to reset your string. * Skill specific advice: :- a.214BC (thunderbolt) is a good blockstring starter if you manage to make someone block it. :- a.214BC (spinners) only becomes profitable at lvl2, but may help in chaining with 5Cs. :: 2A/5A 6C 214BC 2A/5A 3A/6A 6C Is airtight at Level 2. At Level 1, is not airtight and the second 2A/5A must be 5A. :- a.236BC (thunderpunch) is probably decent for blockstrings, but watch out for BEs. :: f.5A 3A 6C 236B hjc.8 j.6C j.6D j.2A Is airtight and is good. hjc.8 j.4D j.2A (or anything else) can be used to avoid being hit by annoying BErs. Or use "Dragon Fish Drill" instead. :- a.236BC (disco-"teleport") is probably trash, but (5C 236B) loop is a valid blockstring. :- d.22BC drains 1 full orb and may help in the corner. :- a.22BC (delayed bolt) dains one and a half orbs, and can help cover the gaps in your blockstrings if you time it right. :- a.22BC (dragon whiskers) Not only drains their orbs (up to 1 for B version, 3 for C version), it makes you wait enough so that your own are recovered, deals a lot of chip damage, and deals some good damage if you GC them in the meantime. Cover with 5C and immediately angle the shot slightly downwards against a cornered opponent. If they try to high jump out, immediately angle it upwards. The C version stays out for such a long time that a spirit-drained opponent will have a very difficult time getting past you without being hit or guard crushed. It is actually not hard to get opponents into a position where they'll likely block this move. * All of Iku's SCs, except for Drill Punch and both Veils Buffs, will help you a lot with GCs (also, they can't be BE'd). Thorns and Swimming Oarfish Shot are probably the easiest to use. * If all else fails, default 236B can be used to make many strings safe (all cancellable strings safe at lvl1). At least you did some chip damage and drew precious cards. * The Key is unpredictability. Examples Of course, stringing should be varied. And again, of course, not every possible strings are listed. You can always replace some j.5A with j.2A... punish Border Escapers with hjc.8 j.44 j.2A... or etc. Once again, Not every possible strings are listed above. Below, are some possible strings that one might use... :- 2A 5B (blocked) 5C hjc.9 j.6D land 5C hjc.9 j.6D land 5C hjc.9 j.6D land 5C... :- 5A 5B (blocked) 5C hjc.9 j.6D (corner reached) j.5A 5A 3A 6C a.236B (Dragon God's Strike) hjc.9 j.6C j.6D j.5A... :- 5AA 5B (blocked, in corner) hjc.9 j.1C j.3D j.5A land... :- 2A 2A (They probably expect a 3A instead of 2A here, and because you did a 2A, they might still fear a 3A coming) 5B (blocked, in corner) hjc.9 j.5B (not that much orb damage, though...) j.1D/j.3D land 5A... :- 2A 6A 6C a.236B (Dragon God's Strike) hjc.9 j.6C j.6D j.5A... :- 5AA 6C 22BC (corner) :- j.5A j.6A j.6C j.66 j.5A j.5B j.6C... (aerial) :- 5AAA 236B